Let's put our Feelings on the Table
by BaronessBlixen
Summary: When Niles and Daphne move in together, he realizes that such a step comes with compromises. One-shot. Pure fluff.


**A/N**: Set around the time when Niles and Daphne move in together – and totally ignores the arrival of Mrs. Moon. This is just a silly one-shot without plot. Pure fluff.

* * *

"Do you want me to help you pack?" Niles asked as they both stood in Daphne's bedroom. He wasn't particularly looking forward to having some of her kitschy decorations in his apartment, but he loved her too much to tell her to throw it away. Not that she would have listened to him anyway – she would have changed her mind about moving in together, maybe, and there was nothing Niles wanted more. Their apartment; it still had a beautiful ring to it, like music. He couldn't wait to share everything with her. It would be their living room, their kitchen and of course their bedroom. His heart thumped loudly. He could live with a few misplaced accessories if it meant having the woman he loved by his side.

"No, it's fine. We need to get some things out of storage later though."

"What?"

"I put some things in storage, because they didn't fit in here."

"Like what?" Niles looked around. She had so many possessions already.

"Well, there is this coffee table…"

"I already have a coffee table."

"Are you saying I can't bring my own stuff?" Daphne crossed her arms in front of her chest defensively. He had feared this would happen. After all, he had told her on several occasions how much he disliked her unicorn collection – she was wary about his opinion in this matter.

"That's not what I'm saying at all, my love. Where-where do we pick up that infamous coffee table?" Daphne gave him a bright smile and a soft kiss. Surely, he would find a place for a coffee table.

The thing Daphne presented him with was a monstrous, ugly construction. It looked as if a truck had run it over and someone had taken pity on it and put it back together.

"That's… an interesting piece of art." Niles tried to see something – anything – positive about this table (a term he used vaguely). The only place he could imagine it was a garbage dump. Daphne gently punched his shoulder.

"I bought it for my first flat in London." She sighed.

"You brought it all the way here from England." She nodded, never taking her eyes off the table. Niles could tell she was lost in some kind of memory he could never be part of. Paradoxically, he felt jealous.

"My bedroom at your brother's wasn't big enough for it. I really missed it." Daphne ran her fingers over its contours. Her touch was careful, almost hesitant. Niles watched her – and it broke his heart. He didn't want the coffee table in his home, but Daphne would be crushed if he told her it didn't fit.

"Well, we need to find an appropriate place for it in my – our – apartment."

"NO!" Niles startled upon Daphne's unexpected scream. She crouched at the table and in the dim light of the storage room, Niles couldn't tell what was wrong. He came closer and the table gave off a bad smell; it smelled old, but not in a good way. He crouched next to her and saw that the table was damaged. Two of its four legs were bent. It was a wonder that it still stood upright. Niles wasn't sure Daphne had seen it, but the wood had some obvious scrapes as well.

"It's broken, Niles. I can't believe it, I-" Daphne teared up and Niles put his arms around her. A part of him was glad he didn't have to take this table home with them, the other felt bad for Daphne.

* * *

Daphne's possessions were quickly placed in the apartment. Niles felt overflowed with happiness. Frasier and their dad had decided to join them for dinner, and it was a beautiful night. Only that Daphne was quieter than usual. Frasier asked Niles in confidence if everything was alright. Niles just nodded. After his family left, he took her hand and led her upstairs to their bedroom. He had put up some candles and fresh lilies that filled the room with a gentle freshness. Daphne smiled at him. Still, there was an underlying sadness to her that he couldn't kiss away – no matter how hard he tried.

The next few days, Niles couldn't help but feel that something was off. Daphne just wasn't herself. She tried to hide it, but failed miserably. He simply knew her too well. When he asked her about it, she told him she was tired. He didn't believe her. Niles knew it had to do with the coffee table. He understood that it had meant a lot to her once, but he couldn't fathom why losing it now was so hard for her.

"Hey," he said one evening after they'd finished watching a movie. Daphne leaned heavily against him, fighting sleep. She turned her face to him.

"Tell me about that coffee table of yours."

"Oh, you know when I moved to London, I didn't have any money. My grandmother had given me some, but it just wasn't enough. That coffee table was the first thing I bought. Well, except for my futon – I couldn't sleep on the table!" She grinned at him. She hadn't looked that happy for days. Niles suddenly knew what he had to do.

"It was the first thing that ever really belonged to _me_. I bought it for myself and it made me feel grown-up and independent, but now," she sighed and her voice threatened to break, "now I lost it. I wasn't prepared to give up that part of my life."

Niles kissed her hair and rejoiced inside. He would fix this.

* * *

It took longer than he had anticipated, but two weeks later Niles finally got the call to pick up the table. He left Daphne with his father, who was supposed to keep her until Niles had prepared everything at their home.

"Let's go home." Niles told Daphne two hours later when he came to Frasier's to pick her up. His girlfriend however was reluctant to go.

"I thought we could have dinner with your father and your brother."

"Let's do that tomorrow, I'm… tired." Daphne examined him.

"You're not. Come on, I already started dinner."

The evening stretched on and Niles couldn't wait to finally get going. Daphne was exhausted when they drove home. He was like a little child when he unlocked the door and Daphne walked in. At first she didn't seem to see it, even though the coffee table she loved so much was right there in front of her. Suddenly, she stopped. Her back was to him and he couldn't tell what she was thinking.

"Niles…" she whispered. He watched as she once again let her fingers wander over her beloved table. The smile that played on her lips made him happier than he ever thought possible. The now restored table was still fairly ugly; a simple, practical wooden construction, but Daphne loved it so much that he could almost see it with her eyes.

"You have no idea how- Thank you, Niles." Daphne kissed him deeply. It took his breath away.

"You're welcome, my love. We'll have to find a different place for it however; it can't possible stay here in the living room."

"Why not?" Daphne asked. She was back to her old self; she would never let go of this table ever again. Niles felt sweaty. He didn't have a chance against her anyway. He had been wrapped around her finger since the first time he saw her. He was beginning to think she knew it, too.

"Well, it doesn't really… fit in here."

"That's what your brother said about your father's chair and now look how perfectly it fits in there!" Daphne preoccupied herself with the coffee table, while Niles just stared. He was stuck with this thing forever, because he planned to never let go of Daphne ever again. Even it meant having ugly furniture.

**END**


End file.
